Australia’s first major retrospective of superstar Japanese artist  Takashi Murakami to be held exclusively in Sydney

Australia’s first major retrospective of superstar Japanese artist 
Takashi Murakami to be held exclusively in Sydney

SYDNEY: The Art Gallery of New South Wales will present a blockbuster Australian-first retrospective exhibition of internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, featuring the global premiere of new work and celebrating three decades of creative output by one of the most influential and recognisable contemporary artists of our time.

Developed by the Art Gallery in collaboration with Takashi Murakami, the exhibition traces Murakami’s practice from the explosive innovations of the 1990s to a suite of new works yet to be revealed. Bringing together paintings, sculptures, video and large-scale installations, the exhibition charts the artist’s emergence as a defining figure of contemporary art and popular culture.

Opening 5 December 2026, the Sydney-exclusive exhibition is presented at the Art Gallery as part of the 2026-27 Sydney International Art Series. Sydney International Art Series is a NSW Government initiative through its tourism and events agency, Destination NSW.

Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said: ‘Securing the works of an internationally acclaimed artist like Takashi Murakami is a fantastic coup for this year’s Sydney International Art Series. We are thrilled to collaborate with the Art Gallery on this world-leading exhibition, which not only enriches our state’s vibrant arts scene but also supports businesses and jobs by attracting art lovers from across the country and the globe. This must-see exhibition will deliver significant economic benefits to our state and showcase Sydney as Australia’s leading destination for world-class cultural experiences.’

In an expansive display across the Ainsworth Family Gallery and the atmospheric Nelson Packer Tank in the Naala Badu building, visitors will encounter the evolution of Murakami’s signature ‘Superflat’ aesthetic – a bold collapsing of high art, subculture and commercial imagery informed by diverse influences from anime to historical Japanese painting. Early paintings reveal his search for a visual language that could respond to a rapidly globalising Japan, while later works expand this inquiry into a vibrant, often unsettling, universe populated by cartoon-like characters, smiling flowers and feverish, saturated scenes rendered with legendary figures.

Among many exhibition highlights will be new work currently being created in Murakami’s studio, which will offer a rare window into the artist’s ongoing creative process and its strong ties to Japanese art history. This blend of past and present highlights the spirit of reinvention and continuity in Murakami’s practice, which bridges tradition and technology, humour and critique, the playful and the profound.

‘We revel in our longstanding relationship with Murakami and are so thrilled to be collaborating in the development of this exhibition, which we will be proud to share with audiences from across Australia and beyond.’

Takashi Murakami ‘Japan Supernatural: Vertiginous After Staring at the Empty World Too Intensely, I Found Myself Trapped in the Realm of Lurking Ghosts and Monsters’ 2019–20, acrylic, gold leaf and glitter on canvas, 300 x 1,000 cm, Art Gallery of New South Wales, purchased with funds provided by the Art Gallery of New South Wales Foundation 2019 © 2019–20 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved

Born in Japan in 1962, Murakami is one of the most significant voices in contemporary art today. Often compared to Andy Warhol, he is celebrated for high‑profile collaborations with cultural icons such as Issey Miyake, Virgil Abloh, Marc Jacobs, Pharrell Williams, BLACKPINK, NewJeans and Billie Eilish, as well as brands including Louis Vuitton, Hublot and Dom Perignon. With a PhD in traditional Japanese nihonga painting, he merges pop culture with deep knowledge of Japanese religion, folklore and art history, reimagining the supernatural beings of Japan’s Edo period for the 21st century.

In 2019, the Art Gallery commissioned Murakami to create a new work, Japan Supernatural: Vertiginous After Staring at the Empty World Too Intensely, I Found Myself Trapped in the Realm of Lurking Ghosts and Monsters, for its Sydney International Art Series 2019–20 exhibition, Japan Supernatural.

A publication produced by the Art Gallery will accompany the exhibition, featuring new writing by the artist himself, alongside essays by the exhibition’s curator, Art Gallery senior curator of Asian art, Melanie Eastburn and Ed Schad, curator and publications manager at The Broad in Los Angeles, and curator of the exhibition Takashi Murakami: Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow, which debuted at The Broad in 2022 and then travelled to the Cleveland Museum of Art in expanded form in 2025.

The Sydney International Art Series brings the extraordinary works of internationally acclaimed artists exclusively to Sydney, in collaboration with the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. As part of the Sydney International Art Series 2026–27 the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia will present Philippe Parreno: 5 Moons  from 21 November 2026 to 26 April 2027.

The Takashi Murakami exhibition will be exclusively presented at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 5 December 2025 to 18 July 2027. Tickets go on sale soon, including discounted 2-for-1 tickets on Wednesday evenings for Art After Hours and Art Pass, which grants entry to the Sydney International Art Series 2026–27 exhibitions at the Art Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

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